One day Peter said, "There is a knife in this package. I like it. There is a hammer in this package. I will build a house with it.
"There is a game in this package. Will you play it with me, Polly? And, O Polly! There is a pony in this package! That is what I wish for most of all."
"But, Peter, a pony is too big to be in your post-office box. It would not come by mail."
"Then Santa Claus will bring it," said Peter. "If I get it, I do not care how it comes."
One day the children saw that the butternuts were falling.
Polly said, "Let's pick up all we can. We will put them in our post-office boxes. When they are full, we will bring your cart. Then we can take the nuts home. We will crack them next winter."
So they filled the boxes with nuts. The nuts were still green. The children stained their hands with them.
While they were playing with the nuts, they saw two squirrels. These sat in the trees above them. They watched Peter and Polly with their bright eyes, and scolded them a great deal.
"They want our nuts," said Polly. "But we have put them into our post-office boxes. We will keep them."
The next day the children went for their nuts. They took Peter's cart with them. What do you think they found?